The two C-17s from Hickam AFB, Hawaii, flown by active and Air National Guard airmen, that evacuated 188 people from tiny Wake island left their engines running as the evacuees—active duty airmen and DOD and Thai contractors—filed on board, leaving within 60 minutes of the aircraft touching down and just in front of Category 5 Super Typhoon Ioke. The storm hit Wake dead on with 186 mph winds.
Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost—a trailblazer and one of the first 10 women to reach a four-star rank across the U.S. military—retired and passed control of U.S. Transportation Command to Air Force Gen. Randall Reed on Oct. 4, finishing an eventful tenure at TRANSCOM.